Tour de Romandie "Spoiler"

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  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    So is there a time bonus? Thinking of my PTP... :-)
    Very strange win really. If it had been a sprinter winning that, without a leadout, hopping from wheel to wheel in the last kms, we'd be talking about how well he kept his postiton etc. Excellent work!

    It reminded me of one of the stages in Paris-Nice (can't remember which one) where Wiggins rode very confidently through the last few KMs, gaining places in the bunch through the corners. I remember thinking then that i'd never really seen him ride like that before, he usually stays near the front but just keeps himself out of trouble. It has to be down to confidence, he now actually goes into races thinking he can win them.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • thegibdog
    thegibdog Posts: 2,106
    Graeme_S wrote:
    I think he needs lessons from Cav on his win celebrations. Looked like he was going to fall off when he threw his arms up in the air!
    I thought that but there looked to be a big bump in the road just after the finish.
    Is he wearing a gillet over his jersey in that shot, or is that a sleepless base layer that you can see under his jersey?
    Yeah it was a GB champ gilet he was wearing over his jersey, I think Thomas was wearing a yellow jersey-gilet too.

    Great stage win from Wiggins, now 1st in GC followed by Rogers. Surprised he's in such good form at this point of the season though.
    https://gibworth.mypixieset.com
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    thegibdog wrote:
    Graeme_S wrote:
    I think he needs lessons from Cav on his win celebrations. Looked like he was going to fall off when he threw his arms up in the air!
    I thought that but there looked to be a big bump in the road just after the finish.
    Is he wearing a gillet over his jersey in that shot, or is that a sleepless base layer that you can see under his jersey?
    Yeah it was a GB champ gilet he was wearing over his jersey, I think Thomas was wearing a yellow jersey-gilet too.

    Great stage win from Wiggins, now 1st in GC followed by Rogers. Surprised he's in such good form at this point of the season though.

    Evans won Romandie last year..!

    I think it's more that the really good guys when they're just riding well they are in with a good shout, form or not.
    _
  • derbygrimpeur
    derbygrimpeur Posts: 822
    Excellent win from him. Hit the front at 400m to go and nobody could come past. A good couple of days for Sky, can they maintain it?
  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    From Ten Dam's Strava the finish was extremely fast - he appeared to do it all at 65kph to come in right at the back of the group. So I assume it was the high winds they'd been talk about were behind them for the finish, so that would've made it harder for anyone to come around or even move up before to be in position - especially the lightweight climbers.
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    DavMartinR wrote:
    Cav time trialing and Wiggins sprinting???

    What the hell is going on??

    LOL :)

    Best post in the thread :)
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    frenchfighter wrote:
    They need to ditch these helmets tho:

    Kask helmets are really nice. I have the K10, which they used to use. I don't know what model they are using now, but it seems to have some sort of aero cover on it which looks bizarre :(
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Right, its the cover which is appalling, not the actual helmet.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    Hopefully they will ditch the aero covers when the weather gets a bit warmer.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    inkyfingers wrote:
    Hopefully they will ditch the aero covers when the weather gets a bit warmer.

    Or make them transparent:

    110925042354-cavendish-story-top.jpg
    _
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    inkyfingers wrote:
    Hopefully they will ditch the aero covers when the weather gets a bit warmer.

    Or make them transparent:
    Yes, that'll make them cooler
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,436
    They aren't covers, the helmets are moulded like that. I'm sure when it warms up they will switch to standard vented helmets.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    r0bh wrote:
    They aren't covers, the helmets are moulded like that. I'm sure when it warms up they will switch to standard vented helmets.


    tour_031.jpg

    tumblr_lohrclHLpB1qacyk6o1_500.jpg
    _
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    Yup - the plastic microshell has been moulded without the usual ventillation holes. An aero cover (like Cav used over his Specialized helmet at the Worlds) could run the risk of falling foul of a particularly zealous commissaire. What Kask have done is an integral part of the helmet structure and can be retained for "safety" reasons.

    Why they can just paint the fecking "slots" black is beyond me - they look like the original bell helmets from the mid '70s
    biker.jpg
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • rickyrider
    rickyrider Posts: 294
    Funny vid of post-race interview with Wiggo - last 20 seconds the best bit!

    http://youtu.be/2XBsK_ycOTI
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    inkyfingers wrote:
    Sky's stage results so far this year are certainly more impressive than their classics results.

    Is that surprising? For better or worse, Sky are a team that like to try and control variables and this is a lot easier to do in stage races than in one day races.

    Basically, winning a stage race is a lot easier to do, assuming you have someone physically capable of doing so, as usually the strongest rider wins, whereas winning a one day race, where the strongest doesn't always win, is a lot harder to control.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,697
    He sounds a lot more sophisticated in French does nt he! ;)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • thegibdog
    thegibdog Posts: 2,106
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Evans won Romandie last year..!

    I think it's more that the really good guys when they're just riding well they are in with a good shout, form or not.
    Yeah but then I don't think this is a case of Wiggins not being in form but winning because he's a good rider, I don't think he could have done what he did yesterday if he wasn't in top form. I'd assumed Wiggins had peaked for Paris-Nice and then would be peaking again for the Tour De France and the Olympics so wouldn't have expected him to be doing so well at the moment. But then I'm sure Sky and Team GB know a lot more about conditioning than me!
    https://gibworth.mypixieset.com
  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    thegibdog wrote:
    But then I'm sure Sky and Team GB know a lot more about conditioning than me!

    I think "peaking" has a lot smaller troughs and shallower peaks with the less amount of chemical help about.
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • Abdoujaparov
    Abdoujaparov Posts: 642
    Bit surprised Wiggo's looking strong too - I thought he was "shutting it down" after Paris-Nice. Can't have shut it down for long then.

    Baring mishaps he's in with a great shout of winning this now. There'll only be signficant time gaps on the last stage, the TT, and it looks like a good one for him. Sky looked quite strong yesterday too which will help on the other stages.

    Still making some mistakes though that they need to stamp out - think it was mentioned earlier on this thread that they timed one (or two?) of their catches really badly. Should have just chilled out a little, but the adrenaline was probably pumping after Wiggo's mechanical. No excuse though.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    ddraver wrote:
    He sounds a lot more sophisticated in French does nt he! ;)

    Sounded like he morphed into Frank Butcher at the end :lol:
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Westra abandons. Again.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    afx237vi wrote:
    Westra abandons. Again.


    So he's gonna win the stage today then?
    _
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    Westra abandons. Again.


    So he's gonna win the stage today then?

    Either him or Menchov will appear with 50 metres to go and win a bunch sprint.
  • inkyfingers
    inkyfingers Posts: 4,400
    afx237vi wrote:
    Westra abandons. Again.

    Apparently Wiggins beat him at paper, scissors, stone last night and that was the last straw.
    "I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    inkyfingers wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    Westra abandons. Again.

    Apparently Wiggins beat him at paper, scissors, stone last night and that was the last straw.

    I heard he got home and logged onto bikeradar and read Rich's comments.
    _
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    inkyfingers wrote:
    afx237vi wrote:
    Westra abandons. Again.

    Apparently Wiggins beat him at paper, scissors, stone last night and that was the last straw.

    I heard he got home and logged onto bikeradar and read Rich's comments.

    So he fell asleep then.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • islwyn
    islwyn Posts: 650
    I can confirm he's sleeping.
  • MSByrne
    MSByrne Posts: 52
    Just tuned in, has Cav been dropped yet?
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,182
    26-04-2012 | 4:46 p.m. | Mark Cavendish (Sky) is announced by Radio Tower on the edge of the road, presumably to a mechanical malfunction. The other men in the Sky continues to fall upon the head of the race that displays only 1'55 ahead.

    No idea what that means....

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